On May 11, the federal Department of Education released approximately $36 billion in funding for higher education that had been provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (signed into law in March). The funds will be distributed through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund to public and nonprofit private institutions, and this allocation will be known as "HEERF III." Notably, about $10 billion of the total is allocated to community colleges – making significant resources available that could be used to support CTE programs.
As required in the law, funds were allocated to each public and nonprofit private institution of higher education based on a formula heavily weighted toward institutions that serve large numbers of low-income students. The formula includes:
- The institution's total and full-time enrollment of Pell Grant recipients who were not enrolled exclusively in distance education prior to the pandemic (75% weight)
- The institution's total and full-time enrollment of students who are not Pell Grant recipients (23% weight) and were not enrolled exclusively in distance education prior to the pandemic
- The number of students enrolled exclusively in distance education prior to the pandemic that received Pell Grants (2% weight).
A full list of allocations for each institution can be found here, and Inside Higher Education has developed a searchable database of funding amounts here. Funds will automatically be awarded to institutions that have already received a HEERF grant under a prior piece of legislation. New institutions that have not previously participated in the program must apply for funds through Grants.gov.
Similar to prior legislation, at least 50% of funds generated by the first two portions of the formula, as well as all of the funds generated by the third portion, must be used to provide emergency financial aid grants to students. This amounts to just over 50% of the total allocation. Under HEERF III, the Department has amended and clarified early guidance and emphasized that all students who were or are enrolled at an eligible institution on or after March 13, 2020, are now eligible for these grants. There are no restrictions on those students being eligible for financial aid or enrolled in certain programs. New regulations have been released to codify this guidance. Institutions must prioritize students with exceptional need in awarding these grants, but have flexibility in making this determination. Students may use the funds for any aspect of their "cost of attendance" or for emergency costs that arise due to the pandemic, such as tuition, food, housing, health care or childcare. Institutions may also use the emergency financial aid grants to satisfy a student’s outstanding account balance if the student’s written (or electronic), affirmative consent is first obtained for this purpose.
From the remaining funds, institutions again have wide latitude, and can spend funds on additional student aid, or defraying expenses associated with the pandemic, including items such as lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with the transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll. In addition, there are two new required uses of funds under HEERF III. First, institutions must use some funds to implement evidence-based practices to monitor and suppress coronavirus in accordance with public health guidelines, and second, they must conduct direct outreach to financial aid applicants about the opportunity to receive a financial aid adjustment due to any changes in employment status for the student or their family.
Grant expenses may have occurred dating back to March 13, 2020, and institutions have one year from the date their funds are awarded to spend all funds awarded under this HEERF III grant and remaining funds from prior HEERF grants. No-cost extensions may also be available for one additional year.
All the details on HEERF III can be found at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/arp.html. In particular, there is a long "Frequently Asked Questions" document that is particularly helpful!
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